Netflix
NFLX
recently announced a payment plan that is expected to help limit the password-sharing problem that has been hurting its profitability and, thereby long-term prospects.
The streaming giant is set to introduce “add a home” feature in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras that will charge extra for using Netflix account in additional homes.
In Argentina, Netflix will charge 219 pesos per month per home. For the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, Netflix will charge $2.99 per month per home.
The latest plan follows Netflix’s “add extra member” feature launched in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru in March 2022.
The company estimates that Netflix accounts are being shared with more than 100 million additional households (apart from its almost 222 million user base), including over 30 million in the United States and Canada region.
At the end of the first quarter of 2022, Netflix had 221.64 million paid subscribers globally, up 5% year over year.
What Awaits Netflix Shares in 2022?
Netflix shares have suffered from stiff competition in the streaming space from the likes of
Apple
AAPL
, Amazon prime video, HBO Max,
Disney
DIS
,
Comcast
’s
CMCSA
Peacock, Paramount+ and TikTok.
Netflix expects to lose two million paid subscribers in second-quarter 2022 because of stiff competition, the unfavorable impact of account sharing, a weak economy, multi-decade-high inflation, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and some lingering COVID-19 disruptions.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) are down 70.7% year to date compared with the Zacks
Consumer Discretionary
sector’s decline of 35.5% over the same time frame.
Netflix’s closest competitor, Disney, benefits from the growing popularity of Disney+ owing to a strong content portfolio and a cheaper bundle offering.
Disney is also expanding into international markets. Disney+, as of Apr 2, 2022, had 137.7 million paid subscribers compared with 103.6 million as of Apr 2, 2021.
Comcast’s Peacock is well poised to grow, owing to its vast library of IP and new productions. Comcast is also planning to leverage Sky’s brand and scale to expand Peacock’s footprint internationally.
Apple’s streaming service, Apple TV+, is gaining recognition, with
Ted Lasso
Season 2 garnering 20 Emmy Award nominations and
CODA
winning three Academy Awards. This is expected to boost Apple TV+’s viewership.
Nevertheless, Netflix’s focus on originals — both movies and TV shows — has been a major growth driver. Its popular original series,
Stranger Things
Season 4, has become the second series to hit a billion hours of viewing time after 2021’s Korean survival-thriller
Squid Game
, which clocked in 1.65 billion hours in its first 28 days.
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